Meet the Citizen rapper of the world

Up-and-coming Emirati rapper Citizen makes his Abu Dhabi debut tomorrow as part of White Cube’s Underground L!ve local music showcase at Abu Dhabi’s Courtyard by Marriott. We caught up with the 23-year-old Ras Al Khaimah native, otherwise known as Abdullah Rahma, to find out about his inspirations and the challenges facing musicians in the region.

Why the name Citizen?

It mostly has two associations. The first is me being a local. But at the same time we also sometimes spell it Citysin – I’m the sin in the city because music is kind of frowned upon in the region. But we don’t do it in a rebellious way.

Give us five words to describe your personality.

Outgoing, funny, educated … and I have an obsession with perfectionism and with professionalism.

Where do you find inspiration for your rhymes?

I always try to keep a topic or story in mind, it’s not just something on the radio – it’s trying to get a message across. It can be fun too, but it wouldn’t be aggressive. In a lot of cases it’s personal experience, but you make it in a way that’s vague enough for anyone to relate to. It’s something you can chill to, but it wouldn’t be something you could play in the clubs.

Original article by Rob Garratt

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Meet the Citizen rapper of the world